Can Grayson Allen find his stride as a starter for the Milwaukee Bucks?

Following a fantastic series in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ first round matchup versus the Chicago Bulls, Grayson Allen has had a tough time replicating that success against the Boston Celtics.

Throughout the first two contests, which resulted in a 1-1 split in Boston, the shooting guard was hot and cold as he could not find a groove off the bench. Prior to Sunday’s Game 3 back home, the Bucks made a somewhat surprising lineup change that elevated Allen into the starting five, where he had spent most of the regular season. Allen did not exactly dazzle in his return to the lineup, as he struggled for much of Game 3, but the Bucks ultimately got the win. Milwaukee will likely keep this starting lineup intact for the foreseeable future, and the question remains whether or not this change can help Grayson Allen get going in this series.

Can Grayson Allen find his stride as a starter for the Milwaukee Bucks as they aim to take down the Boston Celtics?

In nearly 25 and a half minutes, Allen went scoreless as he missed all three of his shots from the floor, all of which were 3-pointers. The guard has failed to find a rhythm in this series, and though some had hoped this lineup change could help, that was not the case in Game 3. However, he did make an impact elsewhere as Allen dished out four assists and pulled down four rebounds to do some positive things elsewhere. Yet, moving forward, the Bucks need their starting two-guard to find a groove offensively to help shoulder some of the scoring load, as he can be an X-factor when those shots are falling.

Milwaukee’s subpar 3-point shooting in this series was likely among the reasons why Allen moved into the starting five. He proved to be one of the team’s best shooters throughout the season, and the Bucks have had little to no success from 3-point land in this matchup. During the three games, Milwaukee is now shooting an abysmal 27.9 percent from long range as a team. Allen has been in a shooting slump throughout this series as he has gone just 3-of-10 from deep, which has played into the team’s shooting struggles. They desperately need to get the marksman going, and placing him in the starting lineup could help, given that it allows the guard to play more minutes alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Allen and Antetokounmpo have developed quite a connection throughout the postseason thus far, as the former is shooting 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) off passes from the latter in these three games, according to NBA.com/stats. Though he was 0-of-2 on triple tries courtesy of Antetokounmpo in Sunday’s Game 3, these two have worked well together, and having them share the floor from the opening tip could help Allen get into a rhythm. A big reason why Allen was so successful during the final three games of Milwaukee’s first round series against the Chicago Bulls was because of his ability to get going immediately, having scored 18 first-quarter points in that timeframe, which was the third-most on the team. Due to his reputable outside shooting, Allen can often catch fire, and if he sees a few shots fall early on, it tends to continue throughout the game.

Even though Allen struggled mightily to find his shot, reintegrating him into the starting five could be just what the Milwaukee Bucks need to get him going. With the Bucks shooting so poorly from long-range, they need him to flip the switch, and the ability to come out firing right away while also benefiting from more passes from Antetokounmpo should help the cause. These are two of the reasons why Allen put together the best regular season of his career in Milwaukee.

Hopefully the rust from Game 3 has worn off and Allen can have a much better shooting night as the Milwaukee Bucks take the floor in Game 4 tonight.